Can't We Just Disappear And Take Our Chances?
by ShowstoppingJames
Summary: I hate summaries. Chikane's POV. Ten years since the girls have seen each other. A little reuniting, ne? Sounds good to me. Teenaged romances.
1. Pets improves our kisses

When I was younger, I used to play with this girl down the street. She had a red bow to tie back her golden hair, and she always wore this pink seashell necklace, even if it didn't go with her outfit. I remember that specifically, because my mother always made it a point to say what an un-stylish dresser the mother must have been. I always thought she looked cute, and in fact she's who inspired me to start wearing a yellow headband in my hair. But unlike my old friend, I still have to be very conscious of how that headband looks accessorized with my other clothes. I try to give my mother little to no reason to talk to me at all. Pleasing her seems to do the trick.

But that girl was my best friend, I remember. She'd sit for hours with me on beaches and hilltops and hold my hand like it was her most precious treasure. At night if we'd see a shooting star she'd beam up at me with big, amethyst eyes and say, "Look, Chikane-chan! Look! Isn't it beautiful?"

"It was always beautiful, Himeko." But that's me answering her question now as I rifle through a packet of photos I've kept in my dresser drawer. I do this sometimes. I look at the old pictures of us taken with a disposable camera Himeko's father bought her. A lot of the pictures were of me. Here I was sitting on a swing, or here reading a book. Himeko even snapped a shot of me dropping my ice cream.

Every moment was honestly so precious and she managed to capture nearly all of them. But all that was ten years ago. I'm a seventeen year old reminiscing about times I had when I was seven, with a girl I haven't seen since.

Suddenly, one morning, Kurusugawa was gone. I cried for weeks. I only stopped crying because I had to go to school and I became sick of my mother berating me for being so emotional. I tried my best to channel my frustrations and sadness into something productive, so I learned to play the piano and I took up tennis. It's purely by circumstance that I'm good at these things, because if Himeko hadn't left, I would never have put time in my schedule to learn them. I would have spent every day of my life with her and felt alive. 

It was early morning when I looked through those pictures. Class starts promptly at 8, and unfortunately I'm the type of person that gets there on time. The limousine takes me to and from school, however embarrassing for me, and every boy and girl at Ototachibana Academy likes to greet me as though I'm their precious gift from God. Our Miya-sama, they call me.

I am most certainly not 'their' Miya-sama. I'm hardly my own Miya-sama. Hell, no one's even called me Chikane since… PIIIIIIING.

I dislike the school bell infiltrating my thoughts like that. It seems to happen all the time. It completely breaks the mood. Screw me for trying to have a monologue. 

My hands were on my chin as I looked out the window during teachings. Mr. Toshio stopped his lesson when a knock came upon the door. Our principal walked in with a girl at her side, but I couldn't see her. Mr. Toshio showed the girl her seat, and informed me that I would be showing her around the school later. What joy it is being head of the student council. What absolute joy. I focused my attentions back on the outside where I could see the rose garden. If Himeko were here, I'd surely take her there. She'd tell me how beautiful it was and maybe take pictures. I wonder if she still does those things, wherever she is now. 

The bell rang again and Mr. Toshio reminded me of my duties. He and all the students left, so I waited for this girl at his desk. She was leaned over, strapping her knapsack in a bit of frustration. Her silky blonde hair completely enveloped her face. In her hair sat a red bow, and I felt my heart get sick. I still hadn't gotten used to seeing other girls with hair that color or girls that wore bows. Never had I seen a girl with hair so much like Kurusugawa's adorned with her special accessory. It made me absolutely sick.

But then she stood up and brushed the hair away from her face. I looked away and pretended to be interested in the chalk board as she approached me.

"Um.. Hi." That voice. "I'm Himeko Kurusugawa." This is sick. This is a sick, horrible joke. I couldn't move my eyes to look at her. "You're going to show me around? I used to live around here when I was little so I'm familiar with the town, but this Academy is definitely foreign."

"I know you used to live here." I whispered, finally gaining the strength to face her. "We used to be friends, you and me. Chikane Himemiya." I smiled at her. I smiled so big it managed to hold back my tears. I held my hand out for her to shake, and she took it gently. The contact jolted my nerves, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Chikane-chan." She said softly while skating her fingertips across my hand.

"Himeko." Her eyes met mine. Those huge, amethyst eyes. They filled up with tears and I finally let mine do the same. She fell against me and positioned her arms snugly around my back. My hands held her head close to me as we embraced.

"My head is spinning." She admitted, her voice muffled into my uniform. "There's so much I want to say to you, but I just can't pick a specific thing right now."

I stroked her hair and smiled. "You don't have to say a thing, Himeko. You being here right now, in my arms like this… I'm so happy. I've never been so happy." She tightened her grip on me and lifted her face to mine. The wave of her shampoo that filled my nose mixed with the sudden closeness made me dizzy. I was lucky to be leaning on the desk.

Her eyes weren't full of tears anymore. She detached herself from me completely and ran her fingers down my arms. I couldn't help but look down. She took hold of my wrists and softly tugged them to her waist. "Chikane-chan." She giggled. Her hand touched my face. Our eyes met again. "You are happy, right?"

I wanted to tell her how happy I was that she was there, glistening in front of me like this blonde goddess. I really wanted to. But I was so lightheaded from her touch that I couldn't form words. My mouth fell open as I tried to plead with her, tried to convey my sincerest happiness through my eyes. Himeko's eyelids became half lidded, and she returned my stare with a grin. She knew.

That's why she inched forward and let her nose brush against mine.

"Show me around, Chikane-chan?"


	2. You're a Shining Star

Okay, hello. :D haha. This part is longer than the last and I've been slaving over two notebooks trying to work out a plot, and I think it's safe to say we're gonna have ourselves a winner. Sit tight and badger me if I don't post on time, because I need to be taught to do things when I say I'm going to. That said, please enjoy your chapter :) Thank you for your reviews! Those made me really happy :D 

* * *

I led Himeko back to the office and from there we hit the dojo, the cafeteria, the performing arts center, all of which were pretty uninteresting to me considering my focus was firmly set on the girl's presence. But I took her to all those places because I thought maybe she'd be interested in knowing where they were. Maybe she wasn't as selfish as I was. I looked over at her and she seemed happy enough, and when she noticed my stare she gave me a wink. She was still holding my hand, even after the people in the hallways gawked and whispered nasty things about her. It was like she didn't hear any of them, and I was happy about that because the last thing I wanted was for her to have hurt feelings. We were still stopped inside the PAC when she spoke.

"What do you do for fun here, Chikane-chan?" Himeko asked, positioning herself in front of me. "Are you a dancer? I think you'd be particularly elegant gliding across a stage, don't you?" I chuckled and she squeezed my hand tighter. "What's so funny, mm? Dancing not your specialty?"

"Not quite," I told her, spinning her into me. "This is about as much as I know how to do."

"And I spin out like this, ne?"

"Yeah, I think so? Or it could be the other way. See, this is why I don't dance." We both laughed and Himeko spun away from me correctly and got quiet when she spun back into my arms. "There are other places I want to take you, Himeko."

* * *

I led her through the music room quickly, avoiding all talk of instruments. I mean, how embarrassing would it be for Himeko to find out, the second  
we see each other again, that I learned to play because I was heartbroken over her? Embarrassing enough to keep it to myself. Besides, it wasn't the room I wanted her to see anyway. I was taking a chance on what she liked now, and for all I knew it could be horses and the 4-H club, and not photography anymore like I hoped. But really? It was so important to her then and it was all I had to go on.

I knocked on the door to the dark room and got no response from the inside. People that usually worked in there flipped out the second they heard a sound and screamed for the other person to not open the door. Sometimes I like to knock in my free time. But at this particular moment, no one seemed to be occupying the space. I turned to Himeko and flashed her a smile.

"I hope you're still into this stuff." I turned the handle and let her go in before me. I hurried inside after her, careful to not let the light in, and shut the door back. The golden haired girl gasped in absolute surprise and carefully made her way around the tables, gently touching the edges of hanging pictures to get a better look at them. Surprisingly, the photography club never tried to recruit me so I didn't want to touch anything for fear of screwing it up. Himeko looked like she knew exactly what she was doing.

"So you like it?" I smiled as she whirled back around to me.

"I like that after all this time, you remembered my love for photography."

"It'd be hard to forget something like that, Himeko, especially with the hundreds of pictures of us flooding my room at home." We shared a laugh and she walked back over to me. "You can join the club if you want? The sign up sheet is around here somewhere… They hide it in here because they don't really like new members. It's sad, really. When they catch someone signing up for the club, they usually bombard that person with camera questions and optical lens zooms or something similar to that." I shrugged with a light laugh. "I honestly have no idea what they're talking about. Mega-pixels? Is that something?"

Himeko let out her airy giggle and squeezed my forearm. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is, Chikane." She let her fingers graze the inside of my arm before gliding over to some cabinets, clearly looking for the sign up sheet. "Aha! Here we go… Kurusugawa. God, that's a long last name, ne? Too many u's."

"We can't all have such a luxury as Himemiya." I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Himeko Himemiya." She tapped the pen to her lips and sent a flirtatious glance my way. "Hmm, that has a nice repetitive sound to it. What do you say, Chikane-chan? Would you like to marry me to relieve me of my vowel burdens?"

I opened my mouth to respond when a frantic pounding came upon the door. I stepped out of the way and said it was okay to come in. Azai Hajime burst through without a second thought and kicked the door shut with her foot. She fiddled with the lens on her large camera and paid no attention to Himeko and I. I glanced over at the blonde and she smirked at me, clearly amused by Azai's oblivious state.

Suddenly, the strange girl removed the camera's strap from around her neck and left the whole thing on the table. She turned to Himeko and narrowed her green eyes.

"What are you doing in here. You should be in class. Is this your classroom? I've never seen you here before. I doubt this is where you're supposed to be right now."

"Hey now," I started, giving Azai a poke on the shoulder. "I'm just showing her around, Hajime. No need to get so sassy."

"Sassy? Excuse me, I don't know who you think you are but in this room _I _am in charge and if I don't-" The green haired girl turned face me and her demeanor went from sassy to horrified in an instant. "Oh, Miya-sama! I mean, Miss Himemiya, I'm so sorry. I had no idea you were giving this girl a tour… Please, stay as long as you like. I won't bother you." She gave an apologetic look towards Himeko and excused herself quickly.

Himeko raised an eyebrow. I shrugged and could only look embarrassed. She smiled and stepped closer to me.

"Maybe she'll tell her friends you're in here and they won't bother us, Miss Himemiya." She drew a finger along my lips delicately. "Could have some perks, mm?"

My heart began to thump against my chest so badly I'm sure Himeko could have confused it for her own. She leaned in close and my eyelids fell involuntarily. Her cheek grazed against mine as she brushed away a few strands of my hair from my ear.

"We can take some pictures of our own." She gave the space beneath my ear a soft kiss and pulled back. "Would you want to do that with me, Chikane-chan?"

"Honestly?" My hands went up to hold the pillow soft sides of her face. "I would want to do anything with you, Himeko." She giggled.

"Really?" I nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." She put her hands atop of mine and gently removed them, keeping hold of them just the same. "Were there other places you wanted to show me?"

"Just one place. But I think we sort of used up our free time with all these other adventures."

Himeko pouted. "Does that mean you have to leave me?"

"I, unfortunately, have a lot of duties to fulfill here both during and after school. So, yeah, I do have to leave you. But if you go to your photography club, we could meet up after in the courtyard? I can give you a ride home. Or are you staying at one of the dorms?"

"I'm right back where I used to be, Chikane. That same old house down the street from you. Unless you've moved since then?" I shook my head no. "Well good. At least I'll know where to find you. Not that it sounds like you're ever home…"

I laughed weakly. "I really hate it. But does that sound good to you?"

"Anytime I can get with you is good. Believe me." I squeezed her beautiful hands and in a burst of happiness, leaned forward to kiss that smooth forehead of hers. Warmth rushed to the site, and it made me smile when I realized Himeko must have been blushing beneath my lips. When I pulled away her eyes were shut, and as she came out of her trance, they fluttered open to reveal the lavender gems I had missed for so long. I wondered what she thought of all this. Of us falling into this strange comfort after not seeing the other for a whole decade. Of us holding hands and kissing the other like old pros. It was strange, and I wasn't complaining, because I loved it, but that still didn't change anything.

I hadn't seen Himeko for ten years. There was all this life outside the two of us now. My heart suddenly hurt so bad thinking about it. I wanted to cry again. I quickly drew her into a tight hug and felt comfort in her hands kneading my back. For a second she was closer to me than anyone else, and that was enough. She sighed against me and I could feel the breath leave her throat as her whole body hummed. Then all was quiet.

* * *

Being at tennis practice wasn't the same today. I felt completely alleviated of all frustration, even though none of my questions had been answered. I was in a state of confusion, I guess, and most likely shock, so playing the old ball game wasn't working out so good.

"What are you doing, Himemiya?" My opponent, Souma Oogami barked from his side of the court. "It's like I'm playing by myself!"

"I'm sorry, Oogami, but I'm just not really here today."

"That's obvious. I already beat you three times. Normally I don't even stand a chance against you and your hand gets all bloodied up and stuff for being such a show off." I glared at him seriously for a second before we both started laughing. He put down his racket and hopped over the net to my side and put a hand on my shoulder. "Something's bugging you, Chikane, and it's more than just the Tea Society or the student council."

"It's not the Tea Society, Souma," I snorted. "They're called Tea Ceremonies. But you're right."

"Well since we're not doing a hell of a lot of playing here we should talk about it. I mean, I like being able to say that I beat you, but not if you're off in zombie land thinking about God knows what. I'll never become a legend that way."

"You're an idiot." He shrugged and flashed a smile. "Let's go inside. It'll be easier for me to meet my friend afterwards that way." Oogami's jaw dropped in alarm and he quickly grabbed me by both shoulders.

"A friend? What is this? You don't have friends, Himemiya. You hardly like me and I'm supposedly your best." I gave him a pointed look but it couldn't be denied. "Who is this person? Oh man, I'm excited now!" He sprinted quickly back over the net to grab his racket, and stumbled over it again before running ahead of me. "Come on, Himemiya! I want to meet this friend of yours!"

I rolled my eyes but took off after him, paying no mind to my mother's words in the back of my head saying, "A proper young woman never runs."

I beat him inside, somehow, and plopped down in on the bench inside our school's lobby. He wheezed as he collapsed next to me, confused as to how he lost the race, but encouraged me to talk about my problems.

But the thing was, I didn't want to talk to Oogami about Himeko. I thought I wanted to talk about it and I thought maybe getting it out would do some good, but for some reason it felt like speaking her name to anyone would taint her preciousness. I felt compelled to think up a lie before Souma could tell that I was thinking up some story to tell him. He had a sharp sense for stories, probably because he told so many of his own.

"My mother is hosting a ball for me soon, for my 18th birthday." That was true, and the thought of going to it actually did bother me quite a bit. "She's going to have a bunch of suits there all dolled up and looking to date me. I want to just build a model of myself made out of money so they get what they want and I don't have to deal with it."

"Am I invited?"

"Of course you are. You're the only person that takes the money mongers off the trail. I'm pretty sure the whole school is invited, if not the whole town."

"Hmm. Well it won't be that bad, Himemiya. You'll have me and I'm sure after a few grand entrances and toasts you'll be able to sneak into the kitchen with me and eat the desserts early." He nudged me and I smiled, happy to have a friend like him for all these years of debutanting and such. Even if he didn't fill the hole in my heart, he was still my best friend and I knew how much he loved me. I wish sometimes that it could have been enough to have a friend like him, but I never tried to fool myself into thinking it was. I think Souma knew that too. "So where is your friend?"

I felt immediate dread sink into me when he asked. If he was sitting there with me he'd not only see Himeko but probably ask to hang out with us or do something else stupid like usual, so I couldn't have him there.

My eyes met his in an absolute panic and I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "She hates men. Absolutely hates them. You can't be here."

"Wait, what?" Souma began to laugh and I just shook my head at him, maintaining the stare.

"Dead serious. She had a traumatic man related experience when she was younger and she can't be faced with them directly. So, sorry Souma, you're gonna have to get on out of here before she comes."

"Are you just pulling my leg, Himemiya? You're afraid this girl will fall in love with my big brown eyes and amazing hair, aren't you? I can understand your concern, but I assure you it's unfounded. You know my heart belongs to Azumi."

Ah yes, Azumi. How could one forget Azumi? She was a beacon of grace and beauty with her voluminous, flowing white hair. She looked like a living angel, from the way she walked, always so carefully and light, as though the ground beneath her could give way any moment, to her delicate way of speaking so softly it was sometimes difficult to hear her. But when she laughed it was like bells calling to God and it uplifted all spirits around her. Azumi was quite the force to be reckoned with.

Souma had never spoken to her in his life. For the most popular boy in school with the highest GPA and test scores, he was not all that good when it came to girls. They flocked to him and he became too nervous to speak, which gave him the reputation of being the strong, silent type, but Azumi had never once even looked in his direction. That is why when he said his heart belonged to her I snorted and let out a good laugh. He frowned and stood up.

"Fine, Himemiya. I'm leaving." He pointed his finger at me. "But don't think just because your new friend is afraid of men that I'll be avoiding you or something. I mean, I'll try to keep my distance as to not scare her and I guess we'll have to start out slow, maybe with a few quick meetings like they do with dogs…" I stopped listening to him as soon as I saw Azai turn the corner, fiddling with her camera as usual. I got up quickly and pushed him out the door to the school while he was still lecturing me about something, and ran back inside to sit on the bench, practicing looking elegant. Those who followed Azai all bowed and stumbled over each other, greeting me with their big eyes and wide smiles all barely giggling out their, "Hello Miya-sama!"'s. I nodded and gave them my best princess smirk and continued waiting for Himeko. When I saw her my heart nearly stopped.

She was looking down and holding the new camera the club had assigned her. Her legs seemed to be gliding across the wooden floor as she paid no attention to the world around her. Her face scrunched up in confusion and she mouthed, "What?" a few times to herself, obviously unfamiliar with the new settings and buttons the thing had. Her silky hair swayed behind her in a rhythm similar to ocean waves. I was completely mesmerized by her every sweet step and my heart filled with warmth to see her so immersed in something she cared for with so much passion. Her eyes flicked up for a minute, I'm sure to keep her from bumping into the wall, and back down again before having noticed me sitting in front of her. With a swift toss over her shoulder, Himeko's camera found itself swinging against her back, and I found her running over to me with a humongous grin plastered to her face. I stood quickly and held out my arms, allowing her to launch herself into them.

"I love photography club, Chikane-chan!" She exclaimed in our embrace, engulfing me with her love. She scrambled to get down and reached around for her camera. Watching her spin around like an animal chasing its tail caused me to laugh and she did, too. "Look at this, though!" She managed to catch the thing and turn it on, and flicked through pictures of flowers and trees and some of her fellow photographers posing. "This camera lets you edit the pictures right on it, even though I'm not sure how…"

"These are fantastic, Himeko!" I declared, earning an even bigger smile from her.

"You really think so? Hajime said they were nothing special..."

"She's crazy. I would hang pictures like this up in my house, I promise you, they're that good. I'm sure other people would want to as well." Himeko pulled me in for another hug and sighed happily.

"It was so wonderful being there, Chikane-chan. They showed me how to develop pictures and take ones from different angles to make them look better. Everyone was really nice, except for Hajime of course but I think she probably just has a crush on you or something." She chuckled against me and I laughed weakly in return. Himeko pulled away and looked at me hard. "You don't like her, do you?"

"I've never really spoken to her aside from today." That seemed to please something inside her, so she fell back into smiling at me.

"Do you want to come to my house and have dinner, Chikane? I'm sure my parents would love to see you again."

My stomach jumped at the thought of re-meeting Himeko's parents. Sure, they loved me when I was seven, but what if time had changed them? What if they weren't impressed with teen princesses living in fancy mansions and driving limousines? I said yes anyway, though, somehow, and off Himeko and I went, in said limousine, to her old house.

"We're going to have to stop at my house first, I think," I told her. "My mother will want to know where I'm going, and she doesn't usually take a phone call as a proper announcement of one's plans. She's kind of insufferable."

"That's okay, Chikane, I don't mind seeing your mother again. It'll be exciting for me to get to be in your house after all this time. I'm looking forward to it."

_Yeah, you might want to rethink that, Himeko, _I thought, glancing at the bow in her hair.


	3. Don't Drop Your Arms

When we rolled up to the mansion I suddenly became conscious of how big it really was. We had pillars and hedges and fences and probably attack dogs hiding somewhere, along with several other Indiana Jones like traps waiting to be set off. I found myself awkwardly shifting my weight from one side of my body to the other, unable to put my finger on why I was so suddenly ashamed of my wealth. Himeko looked as though she was wondering why I didn't just reach out and open the door, but she soon understood when my head maid, Otoha, opened it herself and ushered both of us inside. As if everything had been put into perspective for me in that moment, I realized how stupid it was to have all of the help lined up in rows to welcome me home. I didn't even talk to most of them. Some of them were probably hired that day.

"Welcome home, Miss Himemiya!" Otoha beamed, bowing to me respectfully. She took note of Himeko and her eyebrows twitched for a second, disbelieving the sight of the new girl in front of her. "Miss Kurusugawa?"

"You remember me, Otoha?" Himeko grinned. Both were clearly unable to decide how they should greet each other again, and eventually Otoha just looked at me for guidance. I didn't really know what to tell her either, but Himeko bowed and Otoha followed suit immediately. In an attempt to avoid more awkwardness, I took Himeko's hand and led her up the stairs to my room.

"You can just make yourself at home here for a minute while I go find my mother, okay?" She nodded and as I left, I caught a glimpse of her falling back onto my bed. The urge to run back into my room and join her shot through me, but I knew we had to get to her house and I was already wasting enough time, on my mother, no less. I walked down the hall and knocked on the door to her room. After a fashionable pause, she replied with a, "Come in, dear."

Somehow, mother knows my knock by heart. Probably because I don't say anything. I opened the door and saw her sitting at her vanity, puffing some white powder all over her face like she had mime rehearsal later.

"Chikane, must you wear your hair that way?" She wrinkled her nose as she looked at me through the vanity mirror. "It looks much prettier swept back"

"I'm going to a friend's house for dinner tonight. I just wanted to let you know since phone calls never seem to suffice."

She turned to me, suddenly interested. "Are you finally dating that Oogami boy? His credentials are astounding and I approve completely, dear."

"I'm not dating Oogami, nor am I seeing him tonight."

She frowned. "That's a shame, Chikane. He's the type of boy I'd hope you'd marry."

I tried not to be sick. "So now you know that I won't be home until a bit later. Good talking, mom." I attempted to back out through the door again before she stopped me. She had already turned back to face the mirror.

"Who are you seeing tonight?"

"Himeko Kurusugawa." I replied with a smile, before I ducked out of the room and shut her door.

* * *

Himeko. Kurusugawa. The name set off an all too familiar fuse in the pit of Mai Himemiya's stomach. She applied the purple lipstick across her lips and pretended to still be interested in her appearance. The front door slammed shut, and Mai took the opportunity to rise and walk slowly to the window downstairs. She eyed the girls walking hand in hand down the path and gripped the front of her dress tightly.

"Are you all right, Lady Himemiya?" Otoha asked as she appeared by the woman's side.

"I'm fine, Otoha." She narrowed her eyes at the sight of Himeko leaning closer to Chikane as they walked. "That's the same girl Chikane used to drag home all those years ago?"

"Yes, my Lady."

"How quaint. The academy seems to be keeping her in a finer condition than her mother." Otoha nodded, but felt a bit uncomfortable with the woman's ridicule. "She's still as clingy as she was as a child." The violet haired woman turned on her heels and began her ascent up the stairs. "Ready my bath, would you, Otoha? I'm suddenly feeling filthy."

"Of course, my Lady."

* * *

Himeko was so excited for me to see her parents again and I just kept up a grin to hide my anxiety. From the street, her house looked alive again. The yellow paint wasn't dingy like it had been all the years since the family left. The lawn had a sprinkler system going on top of it and it looked like Himeko's mother had planted flowers. How long exactly had they been home?

I wanted to be sick. It was so overpowering just being outside the house when it was all full of life, that I couldn't imagine how I'd handle actually being inside it again. I used to walk to her house all the time until it got weird for me to be standing outside of it, just watching the paint fleck off onto the dying earth. I was thankful no one ever moved into the house. I heard the maids joke once about how it was probably my doing, and that no one would want to live in a house haunted by a seventeen year old girl. Granted, I wasn't seventeen at the time but I don't have room in my head for the accurate retelling of my maids' jokes. I think Otoha canned her the second she found out about it, actually.

But here I was now on Himeko's doorstep. On her welcome mat. I was welcomed into her house and into the arms of her mother and father like a long lost child of theirs. I almost started to cry.

Himeko's mother held me at shoulder's length to look me over before pulling me back into another hug. Himeko's father, big and burly as he was, seemingly danced around us waiting for his turn to hug me again. The aroma of some glorious meal engulfed my senses completely and before I knew it I was sitting at the head of the table with Himeko to my right and her mother to my left. Kaede was serving all of us from his side of the table.

"We've all missed you terribly, Chikane," Hana assured me, her soft, older hand holding mine, "It's so nice to be back in Mahoroba."

"I'm so happy to have all of you back," I professed, giving her hand a squeeze. "I sincerely mean it."

"What have you been doing all these years?!" Kaede boomed, sending me the world's biggest grin. "Tell us about your adventures!"

I think Kaede used to be a Viking. His red, scruffy beard and the way he ate like a starved dog gave him away. Hana smiled at him and removed her hand from mine gently, giving me space to talk, while she set a hand atop his massive forearm. Himeko's sparkling eyes were fixed on me completely.

My life was school. I wanted to say I fought eight headed dragons in a super-mecha robot to defend the earth, but my life hadn't been that interesting. I got up, ignored my mother, ignored my love struck peers, played tennis with Oogami, played piano, conducted tea ceremonies and other various student council activities, and went home to cry over Himeko. That had basically been my life. "I have a horse."

Oh god, Chikane, really? You have a horse?

Kaede seemed to like this. "A horse, eh? A fine animal. You know, I used to have a horse when I was your age. His name was Jin and I fed him carrot sticks and apples and rode him through the hills of my homeland."

"Do you ride in any competitions?" Hana asked.

"Sometimes. There are these horseback-archery type of contests I'm involved in whenever I hear about them. I've won a few but that doesn't seem to satisfy my mother, so she tries to make excuses as to why I can't ride. To enter you have to be at least eighteen or get parental consent. When my father is home he signs the forms, but since he's been in Tokyo I just haven't been able to do it."

"That's a damn shame!" Kaede stated, shaking his chopsticks at me. "If another one of those comes around, you just let your stand in pop know and he'll sign that form without a second thought." He pointed to himself proudly and Himeko flashed him a huge smile.

"We'd love to come watch you too, dear," Hana said sincerely.

"Of course we would!" Kaede added. I looked over at Himeko, relieved, and she took my hand lovingly. The dinner scene was if she and I had just announced we were getting married, and everyone was filled with excitement.

"What have you all been up to these past years?" I asked, directing the question at Hana because Kaede was clearly busy trying to lick the rice out of his beard.

"Well Kaede was stationed up in Tokyo for some work there and the course of it ended about two weeks ago. We decided to come back to our home in Mahoroba, and were happy to find it was still available."

"I'm happy about that, too. The street felt dead without all your flowers, Hana-san." She blushed and attempted to shoo my compliment away, but I could tell she enjoyed it. "And Kaede-san, I missed looking out my window and seeing you running with your dogs."

"Didn't get to do a lot of running in Tokyo," He laughed, giving his belly a few pats.

"It was lonely without Himeko, too," I admitted, suddenly becoming interested in my plate.

Hana gave Himeko a look from across the table and she looked away, cheeks set ablaze. The woman looked as if she wanted to say something, but Kaede interrupted the moment with a large grumbling sound that erupted within his stomach. We all paused for a second before bursting into laughter, and Himeko looked thankful for that.

* * *

After dinner, Hana and Kaede were doing the dishes together in the kitchen and Himeko suggested we go to her room for a while. We walked slowly, like something was waiting for us inside the room we didn't want to face, and I was sure it was going to be an elephant. The elephant that had all of Himeko's life tied to the back of it. I could smell the nostalgia creeping out from under her door and it terrified me so badly, I almost ran away. But I couldn't, because Himeko seemed to have sensed my terror, and held my hand tighter and stepped ahead of me some. She gave me a long look before opening the door.

It was the same. The walls were a light lavender and up against them were shelves full of books and CDs and stuffed animals. The bed was a bit bigger, but the bedspread was the same white with lavender roses at the bottom that matched the interior. If only my mother could have seen, she would've been pretty impressed. Maybe.

The only real difference in the room, as far as I could tell, was that I could now see the floor. It wasn't littered with the toys that Himeko and I played with and forgot to put away. It was just bare now, minus a few boxes that were still kicking around. While I was giving myself the grand tour of the blonde's room, she had sat herself down on the bed.

"It's really clean in here," I noted, feeling less anxious than before. Himeko let out a light laugh.

"You're not used to that from me, I take it?"

"Nope." I smiled. "I'm used to not being able to walk in here, but I've gotta say I'm liking the change. Now I can practice some of those dance moves."

"That's exactly why I kept it clean."

"Of course."

"Do you think you could end practice early and come sit with me?" She asked, offering her hand to me.

"I'd give up my whole dancing career to sit with you, Himeko," I replied, taking her hand and allowing her to sit me down beside her. She kept it after I sat down. "I noticed we didn't really talk about what you've been up to all these years at dinner. I'm really curious about your life in Tokyo."

"Ah, it was nothing special really. I mean, I went to school and fiddled around with disposable cameras for a few years before I started working on our school newspaper. It was fun, and I made a lot of friends over the years, but I really am happy to be back here."

"Do you miss your friends?"

"I miss them a little. I'm sure I'll be able to talk to them online, so I'm not too concerned, but I always knew that their relationships to me were temporary, so I never let myself become too invested. It was surprisingly easier than I thought. Is that bad?"

"No, I don't think it is at all. You did what you had to." I was sitting on a question I didn't want to ask, but I knew I had to eventually, so I just let myself do it as un-awkwardly as possible. "So… Did you have any… significant people at any time?"

Himeko giggled. "Whatever do you mean, Chikane?" She was going to make me spell it out.

"You know, any guy or girl friends that were more than just that?"

"Like a best friend?" She was still grinning evilly away.

"Well no, you know what I mean. A boyfriend or a girlfriend?" I said the last part quickly so it didn't burn my tongue, and Himeko just stroked my hand.

"No, Chikane, I didn't have either of those." Relief. Sweet relief.

"Any particular reason why not?" She stopped caressing my hand and looked at me.

"I think you know as well as I do why not, Chikane. It's the same reason you've never had someone like that either."

I wanted to ask how she knew, but I thought better of it.

"The truth is that you and I… are really getting interrupted by a cell phone right now?" I ripped my phone out of my pocket and apologized a million times to the girl, before answering the call.

"I want you home," Came my mother's beautiful voice.

"Right now? Why?"

"You don't need a reason why. You have studies to be done and I doubt anything productive is being done over there."

"Fine." I flipped the phone shut and put it back into my pocket. "She wants me home for some unfounded reason."

"Right now?"

"Yeah, so I have to get going. But before I do, there's this ball my family's throwing soon that I want you to come to. The invitations will be sent out sometime this week, and it'll be this big explosion of an event, which I dislike, but I wanted you to know of it beforehand. It's formal so you'll have to dress up and stuff, but if you want you can just bring casual clothes to change into because after an hour of prancing around elegantly, things usually die down."

"It's for your birthday, right?"

I nodded. "You remembered?"

"I'd never forget that day, Chikane. Can I spend the night?"

What a question. "Oh, of course you can." I smiled. "That would be awesome."

"Then I can't wait." She grinned. "Now get out of here before your mom sends attack dogs after me, okay?"

"Okay." I leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, which made her blush, before I got up and left. I got out of there fast, like I was ripping off a band-aid, because I knew if I said long goodbyes, I would end up staying another hour or more.

I walked back up the street to my house and reflected a bit on Himeko's words. The truth is that she and I what? Were meant for each other? It seemed like that was where our conversation was headed. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but my heart felt full of helium and like it was being tickled by the excitement. What if she loved me? I couldn't handle it. With a burst of happiness, I began running up the street.

"Something will be done." Mai vowed as she peered through the glass, watching her daughter skip and run gleefully. The scene disgusted her. She flicked her nightgown around and slowly ascended the stairs to her bedroom. Ten years of a good thing was too long to suddenly have compromised by a little blonde girl and her loving, do-gooder family.


	4. All These Thoughts Are Leaving You

I've become inspired. Here I am all inspired. Thank you for sticking with me and favoriting this, and me, even months after I stop posting. Dedication. You has it. Enjoy :D

* * *

If the night came, I didn't feel it.

Remember the time we thought we were new?

That time we thought we were found?

That was simply because I found you.

When I got home all full of glee, my mother didn't waste a second before ripping it away from me.

"What exactly do you see in her, Chikane?"

"Hello to you, too."

"I thought you'd gotten over that little blonde ruffian years ago."

"A ruffian? You're showing your age, mother." I responded cooly, and her jaw fell in horror.

"You'd dare speak to me that way? I'm your mother!"

I snorted. "Yeah, and you're doing a fine job with that. Keep it up." I was angry that she tried to take away the wonder of the night I had, and that's what prevented me from biting my tongue around her this time. She called my sweet Himeko a ruffian! Of all things! I tried to walk away but she caught my arm and spun me to face her.

"I am not old." She hissed, staring me dead in the eyes. She needed to make sure I knew that, first and foremost. "You are also not allowed to see that girl anymore. I forbid it."

I put my hand on top of hers and removed it from my arm gently. It was quiet for a second, and I had to count to ten before allowing myself to speak. "Look," I began, "I take a lot from you. I'm part of your social scene. I'm a straight A honor student. I've played in concerts all over this country to impress all the wives of the businessmen Dad knows. I've won countless trophies and titles in tennis. I go to every ball you throw and dance with every money hungry socialite you push my way. You know I do all that. You know I do it just to keep you happy."

Mai stood there, eyes unblinking. I continued.

"So why don't you let me have some light of my own in my life? This girl you hate so much, for no reason, is the only source of warmth in my heart. For God's sake, I wish you could understand what this means to me." She just looked at me. "But of course, you don't. I'm not surprised, but I'm not carrying out this 'order'. I'll continue to do everything you ask, but I will never let you take her from me."

I turned and made my way up the stairs, and her eyes followed me the whole way up. If she had something to say, it wasn't going to come out tonight, at least not to me, and it was best to just leave her to think about it.

* * *

Mai swallowed the tight little ball of fury that had formed in her throat, and it dropped down into her stomach where it ignited into full on rage. She stormed off into the kitchen, each forceful step clacking against the stone floor, and when she didn't find who she wanted, she stormed into the Maids' quarters and flung open every single door until she found poor Otoha, on break, sleeping sweetly in her feather bed.

"Otoha, wake UP!" Mai snapped, giving the leg of the bed a swift kick. Otoha woke with a gasp and before she could ask what was wrong, found herself being dragged of the room and onto the patio.

Mai had collected herself after her outburst, and all the maids inside were whispering amongst themselves, and sat across from Otoha at the table. The innocent maid kept quiet, mostly out of fear, and waited for the woman to speak.

"I remember when I used to smoke those long cigarettes when I lived in Paris. That was years before Chikane was born, you know. Roka and I traveled all across France, then, when we were first married. We'd spend our days in the museums and he'd take me out to the most beautiful restaurants. We'd watch the stars fall from the sky on our apartment patio, and smoke our long cigarettes, which is why we bought a house like this in the first place."

Otoha just nodded, not knowing how to respond to her lady's words.

"Chikane was the light of Roka's life, and still is. And I loved her too, but I couldn't help but think something had been taken from me the second she was born."

"Your cigarettes, lady? Please don't tell me miss has started smoking!"

"No, Otoha, she's tampering with something much more dangerous. Tell me, you remember that girl from down the street, don't you? The little blonde."

"Miss Kurusugawa. I remember her, yes. She stopped by today after school, and it took me by surprise."

"I felt the same when I found she had come back, Otoha. Do you think it's wrong of me to dislike her so, after all these years?"

Otoha didn't understand why Mai seemed to hate Himeko, especially when she made Chikane so happy and she never did anything wrong. "You have your reasons, I'm sure, my lady."

Mai chuckled and looked out into the trees. "I suppose you're right." A few moments passed before she spoke again. "And I'm not old."

* * *

I floated into my room and fell onto my bed, not realizing how exhausted I was from the excitement of the day. Once I shut my eyes, it all became a whirlwhind in my head of speeches and actions and Kaede's laughter and it all buzzed inside my brain so loud, I thought I was going to faint. I opened my eyes again and it was spring, all around me. I was walking along the courtyard of school, until I found Himeko balancing along the rim of the fountain. I felt the familiar rush of anxiety and happiness flow into my chest, and I ran up to her. She smiled at me, so brightly, and offered me her hand and we just kept circling the fountain together.

We just kept circling the fountain together. Every time I turned my head to look off in another direction, I found myself staring at the same scene I tried to look away from. Not knowing what was going on, I called up to her, and she didn't look at me. I kept calling and calling and she wouldn't answer me so I tried to break away from her. The second my hand left hers, she crumbled away and I was left there, staring at the grey pile that had been a girl a moment before.

I fell through the earth in the next moment, somehow, and was at my mother's vanity, this time not able to move. My arms and legs were tied back and I could hear Otoha sobbing and apologizing behind me. Panic spread in my system and I tried to yank my arms free of the cables, but every pull caused them to tighten up and dig even more into my wrists. I was completely trapped there.

Someone's hands touched my hair and ran their fingers through it, and the vanity mirror only revealed that whoever this was behind me had delicate fingers, and a love for elegant, black clothing.

Then I woke up. I didn't scream and I wasn't drenched in sweat. I felt weird, like I was half dead, and I laid in my bed for a while to think through my funk. I didn't think about my dream at all, or even life, I think, but instead I was reaching for memories I couldn't grasp. I felt like something monumental had happened that I completely forgot about, and the more I searched for it in my head, the more it slipped away and I forgot what I was looking for altogether.

The sky was in overcast that morning at 6. That didn't help anything in my head. I stood out on the balcony and looked down onto the street and saw Kaede jogging, looking different than he had all those years ago. His stomach was bobbling back and forth, and there were no dogs at his side. He skidded to a stop and bent over to catch his breath, and I had to look away.

Some things are supposed to stay the same. I know it's been years and I know he's not in shape anymore, but my dream wasn't coming true like I had hoped. I had these crystal memories all glittering away in my head, and I couldn't let them go, not even small ones like Kaede taking a morning run.

My mother wasn't at breakfast, and Otoha looked apologetic, but also relieved. On my way out, I hugged her without a word, and left her startled at the front door. I felt like the world was wrong and something compelled me to show her that kindness, like it was the last opportunity I had to. On the ride to school, I still couldn't shake it. I wish I had just gone back to sleep to wake up with a different attitude. Maybe, just this once, I could skip first period and hide out somewhere to sleep..

Deep inside, I know I'm really carefree. I could nap all day and not think twice about all the work or people I had waiting for me. When I snuck into the auditorium to take a nap on the couch onstage, I felt like I had done it every day of my life. I didn't fall asleep easily, because that damn bell was going off again, but once I did, I was out all first period. I only woke up because people came barging into the room, loudly, and once they saw me they all squealed with delight.

And then began the chanting of Miya-sama. My life.

A blonde stepped out from the crowd and smirked at me. "Well, sleepyhead, thank you for leaving me in first period all alone." Himeko winked and the crowd stepped back and began whispering harshly. She ignored them and walked over to me and cupped my face with her hand. "This looks so much better, though. Did you not get enough sleep last night?"

How could she be so oblivious to all the snarls of the spitting animals behind her? It was like we were alone when she talked to me, or when she touched me. She made the world disappear.

"I conked out right when I got home, actually," I said sheepishly. "I just felt weird. You know when you wake up and you just feel weird? That's what happened so I gave myself another shot and took a nap here. It worked a lot better this time."

Himeko giggled. "Now why's that?"

"Isn't it obvious? This time I woke up to you."

She blushed and looked away for a second, and I beamed. "You're such a smooth talker, Chikane."

"I really don't know how that happened."


	5. Do You Miss Me Where You Are

"So this is your second period then, eh?" I said, stretching my arms out in front of me. The mob had subsided and sat themselves in the rows of seats off stage, but Himeko hung back with me. "You and the theater. Old friends?"

"Oh totally. Shakespeare's my homeboy." I laughed and she winked at me, before announcing that she should probably get to class.

"Have fun comparing people to a summer's day. I'll be waiting for you after class to have lunch together, if that's all right?"

"You don't have to ask, Chikane," She smiled. "But yes, I'll see you soon. Don't be late!" She took the sides of my face with both hands and kissed the top of my head before skipping off to join the other students.

* * *

Lucky as I seem to be, Souma caught sight of me as I left the auditorium, and ran after me in the hallway for some ungodly reason, all the while yelling my name. I turned around and faced him, laughing, and shook my head in disbelief.

"Oogami, yell a little louder next time. I don't think the whole school heard you."

"The whole school is already yelling your name so often I don't think they'd find it strange if I was doing it. But that's not the point! That girl you didn't want me to meet?" Oh God. "Everyone was talking about her during gym this morning. Kurusugawa, right?"

Ahh, shit. I nodded. It was all I could do. They found me out, not like I did a good job hiding anything.

"She's not making any friends around here from what I've heard. People don't like that she's so up in your business."

"Well my business is none of their business, Souma!" I exclaimed. He put his hands up in surrender.

"I know that! I'm not saying it is, I'm just trying to tell you.. You know, be a good friend and all that." I groaned and slumped onto the floor.

"You are a good friend, Souma, I just don't know what I'm supposed to do about this. Every day these people are just lusting after me or something, and now Himeko's going to get dragged into it and I can't stand to think about putting her in that type of situation."

"Hold on for a second while I get used to you caring about another human being." I shot him a look and he grinned. "Don't worry though, Himemiya." He put out his hand for me to take. "We'll get through it. There's a way, I'm sure of it."

"If there isn't, I'm going to have to blame you for building up my hopes."

I wasn't late to class, surprisingly, but I was the last to enter, so I had to take a seat in the front instead of one off in the corner near the window, like I liked. Beloved Queen Azumi was sitting behind me, actually, with her back straight and posture perfect. With a smirk, I copied her, placed my interlaced fingers in my lap, and looked straight ahead in mock attentiveness. The instructor took notice of this, evilly, and I watched the gears turn in her head before she turned to the blackboard and wrote "Group Projects".

Guess who I'm partners with? Souma's pretty, pretty princess. There's really nothing wrong with her, I guess, I just feel that she and I are complete opposites. I'm forced to be a princess, and she actually is one. It grosses me out to think someone would like the life she and I have.

But regardless, I had to turn my desk around to face hers and she sang a delicate 'Hello, Miss Himemiya' to me while teach explained the project. I gave her the 'sup' nod.

We had to, as a group (or partners in our case) read several different samples of poetry with a specific emotion, and then write one of that type ourselves to present. There was love, anger, sadness, inspirational, humorous, and all others to choose from, and we got stuck with love. Really, teacher? I think you've been reading my thoughts in that mischievous little head of yours.

The corners of my mouth were pulling upwards involuntarily at the thought of writing down my feelings about Himeko and publicly displaying them for all to hear, until I looked at Azumi, who was absolutely mortified. I didn't know her face could portray anything aside from royal indifference.

I frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I can't... I mean, I don't.." She glanced around the room at all the students squawking over their topics before leaning in close. "I think this is an issue best kept private."

An issue? What, was she going to admit to me that she was, in fact, a robot and therefore couldn't discuss love because it would cause her to malfunction? Souma would be devastated. Maybe if she was a robot, I could try and cheer her up by telling her about Krillin and Android 18. Their marriage worked out fine, and she even had a kid. I'm really not sure how, but that would be Azumi's problem, not mine.

She raised her slender hand and the instructor walked over and bent down to hear Azumi's request to go out in the hall, and granted it. She got up slowly, slid open the door to let us out, and slid it back quickly for immediate privacy.

"I'm sorry we have to do this here, but I didn't want everyone to hear this about me.." She admitted, looking down at her feet. "I'm afraid I just don't know how to write poetry, Miss Himemiya.. I'm not even sure how to read it. It never makes sense to me when I try to. If you want to get another partner, I'd be sure to understand."

That was it? What a weirdo. I had really hoped she was a robot. "No no no, don't even worry about any of that. I don't mind that you can't write it or that you can't read it, because I can help you. We are partners, after all." Plus, I'm not going to sit and do all the work.

Azumi lifted her head and those golden eyes smouldered into mine. In a moment of what I can only describe as intense gratitude, because it would be gross to call it anything else, she reached out to touch my arm. Her fingers were light and soft and I actually didn't feel like I was being touched at all. Just the same, I didn't like it.

"Thank you, Miss Himemiya. That really makes me feel better about this. Do you think we could start working tonight? My mother's going to your house tonight with a few other women anyway, so if it's not too much trouble for you, could I come over too?"

No. "Ahh, sure. I'm not doing anything after tennis practice."

She smiled. "This is great. I can't thank you enough."

You're welcome, weirdo. I smiled back and nodded. She drew her fingers back gently, and it left me with a strange chill. I didn't want to even think about the possibility of Azumi flirting with me, so I pushed those thoughts away and chalked her touchy kindness up to gratitude. Word of the day. Gratitude.

The princess slid the door back for the two of us and we came back in to sit down and we made solid plans for that night. She was going to come over, promptly, at 7 and we were going to break down my favorite poem: When You Are Old by William Butler Yeats.

We didn't speak to each other much after that, but her eyes were still on me and it made me feel awkward. I was thankful to be the closest to the door when the bell for lunch rang.

* * *

Himeko flew into my arms once she saw me and that alleviated all feelings of discomfort that Azumi left me with. God, I loved Himeko. She was a real princess; not some new money debutante going on endlessly about her cotillion. Though I'm sure I would have loved to hear about her days as a debutante if she actually was one, so I can't really defend myself here. I've accepted the helplessness of loving her.

Then something in me caught on to what I was thinking. I've never been a person that could toss that word around. I watched in middle school when kids would date for a week and say they loved one another, and that same charade carried on into the Academy days as well. It was wrong. You can't love someone after a week of knowing them, because you just don't know them. Sure, I let Souma flutter around and bask in his infatuation with Azumi, and he'd go on about all the things he loved about her that he'd observed, but never once did he say he loved her. He knew, deep down, that he didn't really, at least not yet. He didn't know her. There's a certain innocence about distantly caring for someone like he did, like falling in love with a character in a book or a TV show. It was touching for him, and I understood.

But everyone else was never like that. I never understood how they could just let that word spill out of their mouths to every new person they met, only to forget about that person when the next came along. And I even wonder how I can so easily belt out the words in my head when Himeko's near me, after all these years of not knowing her. I wonder why it's the only thing pulsing in my head, begging to leave my mouth when I'm looking at her. My whole brain is screaming 'I LOVE YOU', but on the other hand, it goes against everything I've ever believed in about the subject.

That's a ride in my head I'm tired of taking. I didn't really have to think about all this before she came back, because it was easy to fall in love with the memory of her, and of us. This Himeko, hugging me, was still the girl that held my hand as we watched the stars, but she was also ten years newer than when she left me. She's not a memory anymore.

"Where would you like to eat lunch, Chikane?" She asked, beaming up at me with those bright, amythest eyes. Scratch everything I just said, I love her again.

"I usually eat out in the rose garden." She squinted at me and chuckled.

"Isn't that in a pretty secluded spot? Not much of a social butterfly, are we?" I gave her a weak smile and laughed. "I don't mind," She admitted, her voice low, "I'd much rather have you to myself anyway."

"Believe me, I am all yours." This pleased her, and she took my arm in hers as we made our way to the rose garden for lunch.

* * *

"THAT'S THE THIRD TIME YOU'VE HIT ME, CHIKANE. STOP HITTING ME, PLEASE." Oogami screamed from his side of the court. "You're even worse than yesterday!"

"Excuse me, I am a lot better than I was yesterday because I've been beating you all this time."

Souma threw down his racket in his angsty way because he couldn't deny the truth of my statement. "I liked it better when I was winning and not getting struck!"

"Well, we all like not getting struck, Souma. It's not my fault your head is getting in the way of the ball." I smiled and he made a face at me.

"It is when you aim it at my head. My eye's going to be a freaking guava tomorrow, and I'll have to tell everyone you beat me up."

"Tell them you got in a really sweet motorcycle accident doing wheelies at 100 miles an hour. That'll impress them." I picked up my water bottle from the side of the net and took a drink. "Not that I think they'll believe you, or anything. You barely ever push 60 on that thing."

"Ha ha, I drive like a nun. Someone's bringing out all her A material today, eh? What's the occasion?"

"I've got to get all my charming wit out now before I get home tonight. I meant to tell you about this, actually, but you can't fly off the handle like I feel like you're going to. Do you promise to remain calm?"

He lowered his eyebrows and dropped his mouth in shock. "I don't fly off the handle, Himemiya. I am a mature young man able to handle anything. Go on, tell me your news."

"Well all right. Today we were assigned partners for a poetry assignment, and guess who I got?" When he just stared at me I continued. "Your girlfriend Azumi." Souma's face lifted in surprise. "Turns out, and keep this between us because she was strangely embarrassed about it, she needs help understanding poetry, so she's coming over tonight to get help with it."

Souma went from looking excited to a kid about ready to throw a tantrum, in five seconds. He started pacing back and forth in his square as he appeared deep in angry thought, like he couldn't even comprehend how the world had allowed such a thing to happen to me, and not him. "You know, I was going to take that class!" He finally cried out, before standing still again. "Ugh, you have all the luck, Himemiya. What time is she going over?"

"Seven." Lucky seven, and lucky me.

"Be sure to mention how handsome I've gotten and how silky my hair is."

"How's about you hit that ball over here, Mr. Silk? I've still got time to give you a few more battle scars."

* * *

I don't really know what the hell happened to Himeko after tennis practice. When we were at lunch, I had to tell her about Azumi coming over, and she just got quiet after that.

Clearly, Himeko is the jealous type. But don't worry, it's not the gross, obnoxious kind, and I can tell because when I talked about Souma she didn't care; it's the kind where it's still cute and makes me feel good about myself. She mentioned having photography club, but when I waited after my practice, she didn't show up.

I felt worried, so I decided to ask Azai about her. On her way to the door, I caught up with her and touched her shoulder. I scared her, clearly, because she threw the camera she was holding up in the air, fumbled with it in a panic, before finally hugging it to herself. In anger, she whipped around to face me and spat, "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE SNEAKING UP ON SOMEONE LIKE THAT? THIS CAMERA IS-HIMEMIYA!" Her eyes got real big and she held up the camera to hide her face. "Oh god, I'm so sorry. That's the second time I've done that."

I chuckled a bit at her reaction before I responded. "It's really okay, Hajime. I'm just another person. Now I-"

"How can you say that?" She cried, pulling the camera away from her face. "You're our Miya-sama! A real princess!" But then her voice got gentle and quiet. "You're not just another person.. you're just not.."

I sighed. Now was not the time to steal the faith of one my loyal fans. "Hajime, was Kurusugawa at photography club today? I waited for her, but she didn't come out."

Azai squinted at me, because clearly she didn't know who the hell I was talking about. "..Blonde?" I nodded. "Yeah, she was there, but she left early. Clearly she has no dedication to the arts."

"Thank you Hajime, you've been very helpful." I said before leaving out the door. Azai was still muttering to herself about Himeko's lack of commitment as I left.

* * *

**This was mostly filler, I understand, but it's been a week and I wanted to post something. After this week, things should free my time for writing things I actually want to write. Please review and I'll get to you guys with more of a story next weekend :D**


End file.
